sorry, that term is unfamiliar to me,” the AI responded.
“I need to pee. Where do I go?”
“I’m sorry, that—.”
“Urinate, toilet, expel waste water from my body,” Roy exclaimed.
“The blue door” came the response.
After a few minutes behind the blue door, Roy emerged relieved and then had a frightening thought. Food! The food on this ship was over seven hundred years old. He remembered what his refrigerator looked like after he was gone for only two months. The mold on the food here must have evolved into some type of hideous new life by now.
“AI, sometime in the near future, I need to eat. We have to go back to Earth to get fresh food.”
“All organic food is supplied fresh from the hydro garden on Deck 7. Animal-based foods are simulated in taste, texture, and nutrition. They are prepared and available to you in the forward Officers’ Louege section of Deck 5. There is no need to return to Earth for food. If you tell me what you want to eat, I can have it prepared and brought to you.”
“That’s okay. I’m not hungry now,” he replied as he sat down in the captain’s chair to think about what he’s gotten himself into. He wondered if this was an adventurer’s dream or the beginning of a long nightmare of loneliness. He removed a cigarette from his pocket, placed it in his mouth, and lit it up. He took a deep inhale and then exhaled. Lights flashed, alarms rang, and he was wet. “What the hell,” he exclaimed.
“Captain, I detected smoke coming from within you. Are you on fire?”
“no, i’m not on fire. now shut that stuff off,” Roy yelled. “It’s called a cigarette. It helps me relax and think.”
“Yes, Captain. In following the smoke into your lungs, I noted a chemical build up that is dangerous to your health.”
“Yes, I know that smoking is not good for me.” Roy then opened up his shirt and revealed a T-shirt that stated:
Smoking is Hazardous to my Health.
Complaining about my Smoking Could Be
Hazardous to your Health.
“Captain, I could remove the buildup of dangerous chemicals in your lungs and repair the damage if you wish.”
“No, thanks. I don’t trust you enough to let you go cutting into my body.”
“There would be no physical intrusion into your body, sir. The chemicals would be pulverized. The debris and dead cells are removed and replaced with living cells. There would be no discomfort other than walking to the Life-Form Medical Repair Room.”
What the heck is that? Roy thought to himself. Now his curiosity got to him.
“Okay, what is a Medical Repair Room?” he asked.
“It is a repair and examination room for life-forms, sir.”
Now Roy was curious. “Okay, show me this Medical Room,” he stated.
Roy followed the instructions to the rear section of Deck 2. Another room with no name on it. No wonder I’m getting lost on this ship, he thought. When he walked in, he was impressed by all of the important-looking equipment around the room. He also noticed what looked like a walk-in refrigerator with a glass door in the center of the room.
“Okay, I’m impressed. Let’s go back to the Bridge,” he stated.
“Sir, Terna rules require all of the ship’s life-forms, officers, and crew to have a periodic full-body scan to ensure health. You have not fulfilled this requirement. Step into the life-form scanner.”
Roy was taken aback a little by the AI’s almost demanding voice. What can it hurt, it’s just a scan, he thought to himself and then stepped inside.
After what looked like a small brilliant light show, the AI spoke. “Sir, I am detecting extensive damage inside your body. There are multiple scar tissue areas as though projectiles have passed through or were crudely dug out of the body. I also detect metal plates and screws holding skeletal parts together and metal in your teeth. Your cells are failing at a much faster rate than they are being replaced, and I am seeing cells with abnormal growth that can terminate your life. I must have the medical AIMU start immediately to ensure your survival.”
“Ya, I was a marine and got shot a few times, but the doctors patched me up just fine,” he said as he went to open the door. It was locked. “hey, let me out of here,” he yelled. “I only agreed to a scan.”
“Captain, you must step back against the rear and remain still so that you can be supported. I noted that you do not have a translator installed in the auditory canal. I will have one installed.”
Roy felt a little dizzy and then passed out. When he awoke, he was lying down but still inside the exam capsule. When he touched the door, the capsule returned to its upright position, and the door opened. He quickly examined himself and determined that he was still in one piece and then stepped out. The AI tried to explain all that was done, but it was more than he could understand.
“What’s the bottom line here?” he asked.
“The abnormalities, both natural and unnatural, have been repaired. You should have a normal life span of approximately 150 or more years with scan monitoring. Your senses have been optimized. Your new translator will not cause any discomfort and will only take a minute to get accustomed to. Captain, if you are again ‘shot,’ return to this facility so that you may be repaired without scar tissue or loss of parts.”
“Whoa, a hundred and fifty years. I can live that long?…what was that translator thing you said?”
“With proper nutrition and monitoring, you can have a life span of 150 years beyond your current age. The translator is a unit that is placed into the auditory canal. It translates other languages into your language for your brain to process. It is connected to the brain. You think in your language, but when you speak, it is in the translated language. All government officials and ship captains are required to have one.”
“So I can hear people speak to me in another language and speak it back to them, but I’m hearing it in English?”
“That is correct, sir. Would you like me to speak to you in different languages so you can understand the function? You must let the other language speak first for the translator to work properly.”
The AI spoke in several languages by first stating the language. The language was displayed on a wall monitor, and Roy’s response was also there. He was impressed. He felt no discomfort in his thinking and speech, but knew he was talking in other languages. Roy also noted that his sight was sharper, and his hearing was outstanding. In fact, he thought all of his senses were better than they had ever been. In the morning, during his normal workout, he noticed that his reflexes were faster, and he felt stronger than he had ever felt in his life. Good health is all that it’s cracked up to be, he thought to himself. Even his image in the mirror looked younger, but he knew that had to be his imagination at work.
“AI, what other changes did your medical machine do to me? For some reason, I feel better, stronger, and my reading glasses don’t work right.”
“Sir, you have no need for reading assistance. Your eyesight has been optimized. All of your senses have been improved to their optimum level. Unlike Ternan brains, yours had a large portion that was underdeveloped. By realigning the Desda, or nerve neuron endings, you now have the ability to access those areas when needed.”
“So you’re telling me that I’m as good now as I was twenty years ago?”
“No, sir, much better.”
Great, Roy thought to himself. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been, and I could be alone out here for the next hundred or more years.
Chapter 3
A New Challenge